500 Startups Announces Public Fundraising

Partners with SeedInvest for Investor Verification

PUBLISHED June 26, 2014

by Mark Saldaña

MOUNTAIN VIEW JUNE 26, 2014 – 500 Startups, the most active venture capital fund and startup accelerator program in the world, is announcing that it has filed with the SEC under the new rules allowing for general solicitation, and is now publicly fundraising for its third flagship fund, targeted at $100M. To facilitate this process, 500 Startups has partnered with SeedInvest, a leading equity crowdfunding platform, to provide investor verification and related investor
services.

Historically, venture capital funds have been prohibited from talking publicly about raising capital. This restriction has long been problematic for managers seeking to raise awareness about new venture funds. However, with the recent passage of Title II of the JOBS Act, venture capital funds may choose to generally solicit by filing under a new exemption from registration propagated by the SEC. By doing so, venture funds are able to speak publicly about their fundraising activities and potentially tap into a much larger investor base.

In order to facilitate public fundraising for its family of funds, 500 has also partnered with SeedInvest, a leading equity crowdfunding platform. SeedInvest has built an investor verification system and state­of­the­art white label solution which enables venture capital funds to easily manage their own fundraising activity and investor bases.

“500 Startups is already widely recognized by the entrepreneur and investor community as one of the most innovative VC funds in the world. Making this change in our fundraising process allows us to reach a much broader audience of investors than ever before,” said Dave McClure, founding partner of 500 Startups. “We are excited to be working with SeedInvest to streamline our fundraising process and help verify our investors’ accreditation status.” To view 500’s private
white label platform powered by SeedInvest, apply at 500.co/invest.

“500 Startups exemplifies the type of customer we want to work with,” said Ryan Feit, CEO and Co­Founder of SeedInvest. “This is a strong example of our continued devotion to developing deep relationships with leading venture funds, angel groups, and accelerators.”

About 500 Startups

Founded in 2010, 500 Startups is the world’s most active seed fund and startup accelerator headquartered in Silicon Valley. Founded by PayPal alum Dave McClure, the 500 network includes more than 750 startups, 200 mentors, and 1,000 entrepreneurs all over the globe. 500 Startups takes a unique approach to startup investment and growth that is deeply rooted in community, and reaches hundreds of thousands of startup founders and investors via online media, offline conferences, accelerator programs, worldwide tech conferences, and “Geeks on aPlane” tours. Learn more at500.co

About SeedInvest

SeedInvest is a leading equity crowdfunding platform that connects investors with high quality startups. SeedInvest provides investors with insider access to highly­vetted startup investment opportunities and makes investing in startups as easy as buying a share of stock. Since launching in 2013, SeedInvest has attracted thousands of investors who are collectively looking to invest over $175 million in startups. For more information or to sign­up for free, please visitwww.seedinvest.com.

Published by Mark Saldaña

Mark spreads the 500 message all over the world using a deadly combination of social media, PR, and baked goods. Before 500, he spent time at sexy enterprise startup Box.